Preparedness Notes for Saturday — August 21, 2021

In 1986, Lake Nyos in Cameroon erupted with an estimated billion cubic yards of carbon dioxide gas. The gas had apparently been accumulating in the crater lake, held down by the weight of the water. When it finally erupted, the gas cloud smothered and killed every living animal, including insects, in its path until it dissipated. Outsiders learned of the disaster when they approached the villages and found animal and human bodies on the ground. The best estimate is that 1,700 people and thousands of cattle died. — A Special Note: We are now running very low on feature articles …


Mosquito Protection and a Headlamp, by The Novice

It is said that even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then. In this second installment of the Blind Squirrel series, I would like to pass along some nutty discoveries for your amusement and edification. Mosquito Protection The area where I live is quite swampy. At certain times of the year, being outside without some sort of protection is almost unbearable. Whenever possible, I like to avoid the use of insect repellent. It feels sticky, smells stinky, and I don’t like the idea of absorbing chemicals through my skin. Fortunately, there are some other tools available that …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in this column, in …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle. Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts. Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — August 20, 2021

August 20th, 1866 is the day that President Andrew Johnson formally declared the Civil War over. — August 20th, 1935 was the birthday of former Congressman Ron Paul.  Dr. Paul is to be commended for fighting the good fight for many years. — Some sad news: Journalist Joe Galloway, chronicler of Vietnam War, dies. — The last day!  Today is the last day of a two-week sale at Elk Creek Company. In honor of gun designer James Paris Lee’s birthday, I’ve set sales prices with discounts from 5% to 25% on nearly all of our inventory. With the recent drop …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at currency revaluations real and rumored–in Venezuela, Vietnam, and Iraq. (See the Forex & Cryptos section.) Precious Metals: First up, there is this, posted over at Gold-Eagle: UBS is calling for lower levels in gold. o  o  o Afghanistan tensions and gold, here’s what to watch for – MKS PAMP …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — August 19, 2021

August 19th is the birthday of Philo Taylor Farnsworth (1906-1971). Farnsworth was an American inventor who is best known for his image pickup device that formed the basis for the fully functional and complete all-electronic television system. Among his many other inventions was the Farnsworth-Hirsch fusor, a small nuclear fusion device that remains a viable source of neutrons. At his death, he held over 300 patents, mostly in radio and television. — Two Special Prayer Requests: First, blog reader “RKRGRL68” wrote: “I just wanted to reach out and ask my SurvivalBlog family for special prayers as I just found out …


Shooting Drills for WTSHTF – Part 2 , by T.Z.

(Continued from Part1. This concludes the article.) Intermediate Shooting Drills Once you are accurate and consistent with static supported positions, start practicing static unsupported positions. The prone, kneeling and standing unsupported positions do not have a sandbag or table to support them (hence, unsupported positions), so you must create a stable platform with your body position in order to maintain a clear sight picture. Creating a stable platform in the prone unsupported position is executed by placing your elbows on the ground and driving the buttstock into your shoulder. Your shooting hand should be lightly gripping the handle of the …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at rural population losses. Rural Population Losses Add to Farm and Ranch Labor Shortage As reported by the Newsmax news site: Rural Population Losses Add to Farm and Ranch Labor Shortage. …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — August 18, 2021

August 18th is the birthday of Meriwether Lewis, an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator that is best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. — The deadline to submit comments on the ATF’s proposed receiver reclassification rule is tomorrow, August 19th, 2021. Please leave your polite comment, ASAP. Note: When you write your comment, include “Federal Register Number 2021-10058.” Without that, your comment will not count. — Just two days left!  We are nearing the end of a two-week sale at Elk Creek Company,  In honor of gun designer James Paris Lee’s …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — A video interview and tour with the late, great Mike Oehler: Idaho modern oldtimer builds underground & solar $50 houses. He passed away on February 2, 2016, at age 78. o  o  o Reader J.A. wrote: “Regarding the article “Winning The War On Weeds – Part 1, by St. Funogas” where St. Funogas uses/suggests using carpet, blankets and especially …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence–on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations. Its preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried, not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced, not praised. No …


Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — August 17, 2021

While salmon fishing near the Klondike River in Canada’s Yukon Territory on August 17th, 1896, George Carmack reportedly spotted nuggets of gold in a creek bed. His lucky discovery sparked the last great gold rush in the American West. His two companions later agreed that Skookum, Jim–Carmack’s brother-in-law–actually made the discovery. — Today we present a guest article. Unfortunately, it was too short to qualify as an entry for Round 96 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. By the way, Round 96 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a …